Trying so hard to feel normal - overhauling the supplement plan

Hi 🙂,

Just meanderings of a tired brain today. Hoping I'm not the only one on this wave-length.

Some days with endo are really tough, and some are deceptively "easy" like today, where I end up asking myself why I "can't feel normal".

Stage IV endo is where I'm at, waiting for Tuesday for the recommendation from the gynaecologist (BSGE centre) for how much surgery I'll need (informed by diagnostic laparoscopy and MRI scan).

Full of medication, I feel tantalisingly close to normal, but not there - fatigue and pain are still hanging around.

So, being a weird person, I pretty much spent the afternoon overhauling my vitamin and supplement plan... with focus and attention as though that would somehow solve my problem. I know I need surgery, and no amount of supplements is going to change that. But if I can find a way to feel 3 percent better that way, that would make it worth while for me. 😉

I made a few "luxurious" changes.

I swapped the omega 3 from fish oil to the vegan algae type simply because it smells better. It does cost slightly more, but dealing with nausea every day, smelling a pleasant "green" aroma would be better than powerful fish.

I swapped my multi vitamin to one based on food supplements, so there's more chance of the body digesting and actually using the vitamins.

And, I swapped to calcium citrate with D3 because there's more chance of the body digesting that ok while I'm on omeprazole. I'm keen on trying to maintain bone health - I'm on decapeptyl for chemical menopause.

The naughty one - I've added serrapeptase to try to help adhesions. Thanks to people on this forum for the idea 🙂. This one is a bit of a "guilty pleasure" for me. I read extensively about supplements and likely have an acceptable grasp of what they might do and interactions. My husband, however, doesn't, and he reacts with alarm about risks when I mention supplements. That's fair as a starting point, but not particularly helpful for me. He always suggests talking with the GP first, but in my (limited) experience, the GPs tend to read less about supplements than I do.

And... then I may have gone slightly overboard and got a weekly pill & tablet organiser so I won't have an entire pharmacy shelf of bottles at the dinner table. Yup, this assumes I'm really going to keep taking supplements... unlike the olden days when I would buy them on sale, feel virtuous, and then let them expire. 😉

You can see I've thrown my problem solving skills at this like there's no tomorrow. One thing that drives me around the bend with endo is that I have no real control over it. I can't wake up in the morning and decide "not to do endo" that day. Wouldn't that be amazing if the world worked like that?!! Ha.

Thanks for listening. 🌿🌼🌿

[635703]

That would be awesome and if you feel any better, let us know - plant 🌱 love 💗

[MrsBray]

I have recently bought the Medical Medium Cleanse To Heal book.

I can post what it says about supplements for endometriosis if that would help?

[Hidden in reply to MrsBray]

Sure, if there's something that looks interesting under endometriosis.

[mrskiki]

Yes, the myth you can get everything from a balanced diet when you're working full time isn't easy either unless you're really organised. I've always taken a supplement. My mum always read up on food nutrients so I was brought up on great diet of veg and fish and fresh food. It slipped to white pasta rice bread based due to living with partner who won't eat wholemeal stuff. Trying to get it back under control but difficult. I find the quality/source of the tablets important especially after I recently had my first batch of doctor prescribed iron and it made me so Ill. I always bought ferrous fumerate and knew not to take sulphate but I was in hospital after an op so I found out the books were right! Oddly this past couple of years I'm using all supplements, from same range.I buy the Ultra Omega-3 fish oil that is filtered and find that one ok. Menopace Max or plus as multivit most days of the week due to age and the Osteocare Liquid Calcium Magnesium, Vitamin D and Zinc, used on days I don't take the multivit. I find that easy and I don't like large tablets so that restricts my choice often.

Doctors always say no need for supplements even for the basic vits, yet they say this without giving you a blood test or checking whether perhaps there is a medical reason for you being deficient.

We have to look after ourselves best we can ....

[Moonglo]

I’ve got one of those pill organisers - it’s a life saver! 🤣

I agree (non-expert disclosure 😛) that supplements can be useful for those with known issues/deficiencies. I mean, if you’re iron deficient, you can eat spinach for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still be deficient.

What’s not advisable is necking pills when you’re eating nothing but junk food - you still need a healthy, balanced diet. It’s just being aware that some minerals can be harmful if overdosed, or in certain circumstances, like if you’re pregnant.